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Rick Porcello
Fredrick Alfred "Rick" Porcello III (born December 27, 1988) is a Major League Baseball rookie pitcher for the Detroit Tigers. He was drafted #27 overall in the first round of the 2007 Major League Baseball Draft.Porcello has been described as an "ace" who could be a "bona fide No. 1 starter." Porcello had been projected by Sports Illustrated to be among the first few picks in the 2007 draft. His choice of agent Scott Boras to represent him may have scared away other teams and knocked him down to the 27th spot.Matt. "Top 20 high school prospects: Porcello No. 1 heading into Thursday's MLB draft, ''Sports Illustrated. Prep career Porcello graduated from Seton Hall Preparatory School in West Orange, New Jersey in 2007. As part of his 9-0, 103 strikeouts, and a 1.44 ERA in 63 IP at Seton Hall Prep as a senior,< he threw a perfect game on May 12, 2007 against Newark Academy. He signed a letter of intent to attend University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill which he declined in order to pursue his professional career with the Tigers organization. The Tigers signed Porcello to a $7.29 million, four-year deal with two one-year options. The total contract is worth $11.1 million, making Porcello the highest-paid high schooler ever.Beck, Jason. , August 15, 2007. Accessed August 21, 2007. He also received a $3.5 million signing bonus, the second largest bonus ever given out by the Tigers, surpassed only by the $3.55 million given to 2006 first round pick Andrew Miller Minor league career Porcello played the entire 2008 season with the Lakeland Flying Tigers, Detroit's He earned his first victory against the [[Tampa Yankees] on April 3, 2008. On May 12, he was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Week. On July 19, he took part in a seven inning combined no-hitter against the St. Lucie Mets. Porcello finished the season with a record of 8-6 in 125 innings pitched. His 2.66 ERA was the lowest in the FSL. Major league career 2009 On February 7, 2009, Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski stated that Porcello would be considered for the final spot in the Tigers' rotation, pending his spring training performance.< Porcello began drawing comparisons to Boston Red Sox Josh Beckett, namely from Tigers official Al Avila, who was the Florida Marlins' scouting director when the team drafted Beckett in 1999..column Is Tigers' Porcello another Beckett? The kid is off to an even better start On April 1, Dombrowski confirmed that Porcello would make the 2009 opening day roster after posting a 2.63 ERA in five Grapefruit League games. Dombrowski stated: is one of our best starting pitchers... He has quality stuff and throws strikes. Rick is confident and mature beyond his years. And he has a very, very nasty sinker that gets him out of trouble. On April 9, Porcello made his Major League debut against Toronto, opposite Blue Jays rookie pitcher Ricky Romero. The game marked the first time in MLB history that two first-round picks faced each other in their respective debuts.Porcello pitched five innings and took the loss for Detroit. He struck out four batters and allowed four runs on eight hits. On April 19, Porcello earned his first career win in a 8-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners. He allowed one run and struck out three in seven innings with no walks. He retired the final 14 batters he faced. Porcello won all five games he started in May. He became the youngest pitcher to win five starts in a row since Dwight Gooden won seven in a row in 1985, as well as the first Tiger age 20 or younger to win five consecutive starts since at least 1954 Category:Tigers Category:Pitchers